On the afternoon of May 29, 2019, accompanied by Mr. Jiang Feng (Guest Expert of IRCSE), Ms. Annette Schavan, German Co-chair of “Sino-Germany Dialogue Forum”, visited Shanghai University for the Elderly (SUE). In her entourage were a number of Chinese and German students, as well as a few staff members.
 
The following people from SUE participated in the meeting and discussions.
——— SUE top officials Li Xuanhai, Xiong Fangjie, Han Chonghu, Ma Xianguo, and Lu Ye;
——— Heads of various SUE academic and administrative departments;
——— Representatives of SUE teachers and students.
 
The meeting was presided over by Mr. Li Xuanhai, SUE President.

Mr. Xiong Fangjie, SUE Vice President, briefed the guests on the overall development of the school. Mr. Song Wenzu, Ms. Hou Xiaoying, Mr. Yao Shangmin and Ms. Wang Yuan (representatives of teachers and students of SUE) spoke at the meeting successively. On behalf of the school, Mr. Han Chonghu, SUE Vice President, presented the guest with a piece of calligraphy and painting work created by teachers of the SUE Department of Calligraphy and Painting. Ms. Hou Xiaoying, the student representative, also offered Ms. Schavan a hand-woven scarf which was made by herself.

Ms. Schavan said she was very pleased to visit SUE. She could feel the happy atmosphere here, and she understood the famous saying “it’s never too late to learn” much better this time. She stressed that education was an important part of “Sino-Germany Dialogue Forum”. Elderly universities not only enabled the elderly to obtain knowledge, but also brought new hopes and goals to these people. She got a lot of inspiration from the education at Shanghai University for the elderly. She thought education for the elderly played a very important role in the lifelong education system. She believed that, even in education for the young people, we should try to make the process happier in future. She hoped to strengthen the cooperation with each other and promote the common development in future.

Ms. Schavan and her entourage visited with great interest the exhibition of handmade weaving art in SUE’s Department of Household Management. She was greatly interested in the knitting works of the elderly students. She also went to the dancing classroom to dance with the students there and had a photo taken happily. She was further attracted to the cooking class by the fragrance in the hallway of the teaching building, and learned about Chinese food culture attentively. Finally, she went to the calligraphy and painting classroom to feel the strong charm of Chinese culture. The guests stopped in front of each classroom and praised SUE as a palace of art and paradise of happiness.

As we know, “Sino-Germany Dialogue Forum” was established in 2005 at the initiative of the prime ministers of the two countries. The forum meets once a year in China and Germany alternatively. During the past fifteen years, the bilateral exchanges and cooperation between the China and Germany have been carried on quite satisfactorily.